Pumpkin-sausage pasta (using leftover canned pumpkin)

In answer to a request in the comments from Friday, here is something I do with leftover cooked or canned pumpkin. Since the amounts of ingredients varies with the number of servings, I've given estimates of what I use. You can adjust to your own meal prep situation.

Pumpkin-sausage pasta

cooked pasta, according to package directions, enough to serve family, cook pasta, drain and set aside

large Italian sausage links, about 1/4 lb each, 1 for every 2 servings (I use 2 or 3 links for 5 adult servings)
chopped onion, about 1/2 large onion for 4-5 servings
minced garlic, garlic powder or granules, equivalent to 2 cloves of garlic for 4-5 servings
chicken stock, 2 cups for 4-5 servings
pureed pumpkin, canned or fresh cooked, about 1 cup
sage, fresh minced or dried crumbled, equivalent of about 1-2 teaspoons (or to taste) dried, rubbed sage
cream or milk, 1/4 cup
Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup
dash nutmeg
salt, to taste
red pepper flakes, pinch
Parmesan shavings, for garnish, as much as desired

Remove sausage from casing, brown and crumble in a skillet. Set sausage aside. Pour off all but 1-2 teaspoons fat from the sausage. Saute the onion in the sausage fat. Add the garlic when the onion is translucent. Cook until onion is barely golden.

Add the pumpkin, chicken stock and sage. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add the browned sausage and heat through. Toss in the cooked pasta, along with cream or milk, cheese and nutmeg. Taste and add salt and red pepper flakes. Garnish with additional Parmesan.

notes:
I sometimes use turkey Italian sausage, in which case there is little residual fat in the pan. For turkey Italian sausage, use about 2 teaspoons of olive oil to saute the onion.

This is a less-meat dish. you can certainly use more Italian sausage, if you have heavy-duty carnivores in your house. you can also omit the sausage for a vegetarian dish. I don't think this would be very tasty as a vegan dish. It seems to need the flavors of the sausage and/or the Parmesan. I go easy on the cream/milk. But if you like a creamier dish, use as much as 1/2 cup of cream/milk.

For buying Italian sausage, the butcher counter in our local Fred Meyer carries pork Italian sausage links to be purchased one at a time. When I made sausage pizza a couple of weeks ago, I bought just one sausage, to brown and crumble. It may not be the cheapest per pound way to go, for Italian sausage, but if you only want 1 or 2, it is simple to just buy what you need. I also buy the turkey version, in tray packs by Jennie-O. The turkey Italian sausage links in those packs go to mark down frequently, as they're sold refrigerated (not frozen, though you can freeze them once home). When I find them on markdown I will buy several packages, split into packets of 2 or 3 links, and freeze.

Very hearty and warming for a fall evening. I serve this with a green salad or green veggies, and a baguette, if we're extra hungry.

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Cheap & Cheerful for a mid-October week

It's getting cooler and darker in our area. We have curtains in the kitchen eating area which I've felt the need to close before we eat our dinner. We've been using a jar candle on the kitchen table some of the nights, too. This candle was a gift from friends last holiday season. We have a large assortment of candles and I thought this year, we'd try to use them. They do add a nice ambiance to chilly fall and winter days and evenings.

the weekend -- I think we ate a lot of eggs over the weekend. As I've been telling the family, I'm pushing eggs. I had a few dozen left from a major purchase in early September. One night my husband made French toast for dinner.

Monday -- my daughter made dinner for us. She made egg fried rice. She made this on Sunday afternoon, then reheated Monday evening. It worked great, and she made so much that I had some for lunches during the week, too.

Tuesday -- (family dinner night) beef and bean burritos, using leftover pot roast from last week kept in freezer, canned beans, commercial tortillas and cheese, chips and salsa (both Dollar Tree), baked acorn squash, tossed salad with homemade dressing, scratch cake

Wednesday -- leftover beef and bean burritos, tossed salad, pear slices, refried beans and cheese, chips and salsa, baked squash

Thursday -- turkey-noodle soup, pumpkin muffins, apples

Friday -- leftover soup tonight, with muffins and applesauce


Saving time this week -- On Tuesday, I made twice as much as we needed, so Wednesday was just leftovers, with a fresh salad and fruit. Thursday, I did the same, made twice what we needed so there would be leftovers for Friday. I need to buy more produce very soon.  I'll get out to a store in the next day or two. Otherwise, our supplies are still good. I cleaned up the pantry this past week and took a cursory inventory. It looks like I am well set for confectioner's sugar. Somehow I got overstocked on that last year. And I still have enough canned pumpkin for 10 pies. I do use pumpkin for soups and pasta sauce, though, so I will still buy more this fall. I am also well stocked on whole wheat flour, rolled oats, steel cut oats and brown rice. No chance of running out of grains any time soon.

How about you? Are you using what's on hand this month? Beginning to do some stocking up? Does anyone have a particularly good authentic Thai recipe, for a main dish?  I'm looking for an authentic, but easy to make, and with few extra ingredients to buy (given your standard American pantry) Thai recipe.

I hope you all have a great weekend. I will hopefully be around more next week, than the past couple of weeks. Life got crazy for a bit, there.